No. 11 Women’s Volleyball Wins Fourth GLVC Championship In Five Years

Carly Perschnick hits .500 with 19 kills

ROMEOVILLE, Ill. – 32 ties, 17 lead changes but one champion. No. 11 Lewis women’s volleyball won their fourth Great Lakes Valley Conference Championship in five years by defeating rival No. 19 Indianapolis 3-1 (25-18, 24-26, 25-23, 25-22) on Sunday afternoon at Neil Carey Arena.

The dramatic victory gave Lewis their eighth championship, the most of all active GLVC members.

The win also avenges a loss to Indianapolis in the GLVC Championship last season.

Sophomore Carly Perschnick (Dwight, Ill./Dwight Township/Nova Southeastern) hit .500 with a match-high 19 kills. Senior Lauren Seliga (St. Louis, Mo./Nerinx) added 20 digs and 15 kills. Senior setter Rachel Ruedi (Mahomet, Ill./Mahomet Seymour) recorded a career-high 59 assists and guided the Lewis offense to a .284 attack percentage. Senior Danielle Mount (Crest Hill, Ill./Lockport) added eight block assists.

The opening set was tied at 15 when Lewis pulled away with an 8-1 run.

The Greyhounds took an early advantage in the second by grabbing a 12-7 lead. Indianapolis led 21-18 when Lewis scored four straight points, highlighted by a pair of Perschnick kills. Lewis earned set point at 24-23, but the Greyhounds scored the next three points to get the win.

The third frame featured 11 ties and six lead changes. Lewis broke a 22-22 tie with a 3-1 stretch to finish the set. Seliga had a kill on set point. Freshman Amy Choi (Vernon Hills, Ill./Vernon Hills) had an ace for point 24.

The fourth set was just as close, with 12 ties and seven lead changes. In a set where neither team led by three points until the final score, it looked like Lewis had found some momentum when a 5-1 run gave the Flyers a 17-15 lead. Indianapolis asked for time and took advantage of the pause by scoring the next four points, forcing Lewis to take a timeout of their own. However out of the break, with the score 22-20 in favor of the Greyhounds, Lewis would go on a 5-0 run to win the match and the championship. Sophomore Jen Krumwiede (Elkhart, Ind./Elkhart Memorial/IPFW) had an ace to tie the score at 22 and three straight hitting errors for Indianapolis gave the match to Lewis.

“The team has already exceeded expectations that I think most people had for us considering what we graduated last year,” head coach Lorelee Smith said. “But now it is wide open in regards to how far we can go.”

Choi totaled 17 digs while graduate student Adria Phillips (South Bend, Ind./Riley/Indiana) added 11.

“Amy, Adria and Lauren stole some kills in the back row by filling the hole in the block,” Smith said. “Offensively, Rachel did a great job of mixing it up.”

Lewis improves to 26-4. Indianapolis falls to 25-8. Next up for the Flyers is the NCAA Midwest Regional. Lewis’ opponent will be announced late Sunday evening.